Colleagues and Lovebirds
by CyberChick135
Summary: Cassandra "Cassie" Lane Booth is rehabilitating her life after moving in with her father. Soon, romance blooms between her and Zack Addy. Is it just the basic "Opposites Attract"? Or more of "Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder"?
1. Pilot Act1

**Pilot**

**Act1**

* * *

A young teenager with long, blonde hair was sitting in the lounge, reading a paperback copy of _Romeo & Juliet, _with a coral blue binder open on her lap and a mechanical pencil in her mouth.

"Cassie, grab your camera, we have a case." Zack called, jogging up to his associate.

The teen referred to as Cassie, slammed her book and binder shut and pulled the pencil from her mouth. "Thank God, something to get my mind off of Shakespeare." she sighed, jumping up. "I've been reading the same four pages for the past hour to try and finish up my worksheet for English class."

Cassie reached for her camera bag and Jeffersonian ID badge and followed Zack out of the lounge area. "Any word on what it is?" she asked.

"Just a body found at Arlington." Zack answered.

"Yay." Cassie sarcastically sighed, walking out of the Jeffersonian Lab.

* * *

The Jeffersonian Medico-Legal Lab truck parked near the crime scene and the lab techs went to doing their job.

"I wonder where my dad is." Cassie noted, looking around. "A body here of all places, he'd be all over it."

"Well Dr. Brennan is coming back from Guatemala today, maybe he picked her up at the airport?" Zack noted.

"Yeah, so if that happened, she's gonna be in a not-so-good mood." Cassie chuckled and began taking photos of the surrounding scene, which was surrounded by FBI techs.

As Cassie got closer to a large group of FBI techs, she looked around and sighed. "I need my rubber boots to get closer shots." she noted. "Back to the truck."

"Why can't you just take the pictures?" Zack asked her.

Cassie scoffed, "Because these boots and jeans in total cost me fifty bucks, nearly half my paycheck." she answered, looking at the grad student. "There's no way in hell I'm staining them with marshy water from this crime scene."

"Why spend half your paycheck on clothes?" Zack questioned.

Cassie shot him a glare and chuckled, "I'm a girl." she answered, blandly.

"Gender really has nothing to do with it." Zack corrected.

"Look, I'm starting out new here. New school, new job, new lifestyle." Cassie reminded. "So, I buy new clothes to I don't know, fit in, I guess."

"I thought that was why you did those drugs before." Zack said.

Cassie rolled her eyes and opened the van door. "Nah, according to my shrink I had in juvie, that was me being rebellious in nature considering my housing situation back then." she corrected, slipping on a pair of dark green, rubber boots, covering her feet and portions of her jeans. "Thanks for reminding me about that, by the way."

"Someone's coming." Zack noted, looking near the entrance to the cemetery.

"Think it's my dad and Dr. Brennan?" Cassie asked, looking in the same direction.

The black van picked up speed and made its way towards the commotion, and came to a screeching halt.

"Yep, that's my dad." Cassie chuckled and rolled her eyes.

"Joy." Zack sighed, grabbing a kit from the Jeffersonian van.

"Hi Zach." Dr. Brennan greeted, walking up to the two. "Cassie."

"Dr. Brennan." Cassie replied, "Dad."

"This eco-warrior look works for you." Zack said to Dr. Brennan. "Very action oriented."

"Thanks." Brennan replied. "Agent Booth, you remember my assistant Zack Addy?"

"Oh yeah." Booth answered.

The four walked down towards the crime scene, "So Cassie, you guys just get here?" he asked.

"Yep, and the scene is a bit marshy so I slid on my rubber boots to avoid staining my new shoes and jeans." Cassie answered, adjusting her camera. "So I can't really tell you much so far."

"All I need to know is that if this is foul play or not, then I can start investigating." Booth replied.

"Whatever dad, whatever." Cassie scoffed. "The body's still in the pond, not my job."

She put the camera to her face and began taking photos of the surrounding area, establishing a crime scene perimeter.

* * *

_**Colleagues and Lovebirds**_

* * *

The sun was completely set by the time the body was taken from the pond and laid on a patch of dirt, making it easier for Dr. Brennan to examine the remains.

Cassie leaned against the Medico-Legal van, a lit cigarette between her fingers.

"I thought you stopped smoking." Zack asked, walking up the Cassie.

The teenager shook her head and blew out a stream of smoke, "I stopped smoking pot." she corrected. "Regular menthols, nope." she took another drag and blew the smoke out.

"You told me you were going to quite." Zack reminded his colleague.

"I said I would do the best I could." Cassie said. "I stopped the drugs, and the drinking. Smoking's just a little harder to drop, besides, it's my form of stress relief."

Zack took the cigarette from Cassie and threw it on the ground, stomping it out. He picked it up and threw it in a nearby trash bin near the van.

"I wasn't finished with that." Cassie noted, rolling her eyes.

"Dr. Brennan is ready for you to photograph the remains." Zack told her.

"This is gonna be a long night." Cassie sighed, following Zack to the taped off crime scene. "FYI, taking a cigarette from someone while they're still smoking it, not a smart move. Especially for someone who's nearly done with his doctorate in Forensic Anthropology."

"Smoking those cigarettes is basically slowly committing suicide." Zack said.

"Bite me." Cassie snapped, "And that's snippy teenage code for, 'take my lit cigarette from me again, I'll punch you'."

* * *

Cassie began snapping photos of the remains at various angles while Zack and Brennan examined them.

"Remains are wrapped in four-milled, flat poly-construction sheeting." Brennan informed.

"Excuse me?" Cassie asked, looking up from her camera.

"PVC coated chicken wire." Zack simplified.

Cassie nodded her head and continued snapping photos.

"Weighted. That's why the body didn't surface during decomposition." Brennan added. "The skeleton is complete, but the skull is in fragments."

"What can you tell me?" Booth asked, directing the question towards Brennan.

"Not much." Brennan answered. "She was a young woman, probably between 18 and 22, approximately 5'3", race unknown, delicate features."

"That's all?" Booth asked, sarcastically.

Cassie rolled her eyes and ignored her father's sarcasm. "Dad, what have we talked about, about patronizing the Squints?"

Booth smiled at his teenage daughter and went back to watching Temperance and Zack examine the body. "Seriously though, anything else?" he asked.

"Tennis player." Temperance answered.

"How do you get a pretty tennis player out of that yuck?" Booth questioned.

"Epiphyses fusion gives age, pelvic bone shape gives sex…" Zack elaborated.

"Bursitis in the shoulder, somebody this young, must be an athletic injury." Temperance added.

"When did she die?" Booth asked, cutting to the point.

Cassie snapped another photo and sighed, "Ehhh, well…" she started.

"Well what?" Booth prided.

"Means wait until our bug and slime guy takes a look." Zack elaborated.

"No clothing." Brennan noted.

"You know, in my line of work, no clothes usually means a sex crime." Booth stated.

"In my line of work, it could also mean the victim favored natural fibers." Temperance rebuked.

"Your suit, for example, will outlast your bones by decades." Zack said to Booth.

"Collect silt, 3 meters radius, to a depth of 10 centimeters." Brennan ordered Zack. "Cassie, take photos at that same three meter radius and you can analyze the photos once we get back to the Jeffersonian."

"Got it Dr. Brennan." Cassie nodded and followed Zack, taking photos as she walked.

* * *

**Medico-Legal Lab, Jeffersonian Institution. Early Morning.**

The team walked onto the platform where the remains rested on a metal table.

"The pond is not only warm and teeming with microbes, but it houses black carp and koi which fed on the body." Hodgins informed.

"Can I, as one of the two normal people in this room, say "Ew"?" Angela questioned, a look of slight disgust on her face.

"You should've seen the crime scene." Cassie told her.

"No, see that's your job Cass, thank God too because I can barely stomach this." Angela sighed.

"As we cut to the chase?" Brennan prided, stopping Hodgins' list of bacteria he found in the water samples.

"In the pond two summers." Hodgins answered.

"Spring before last." Brennan concluded.

"You really think I'm lusty?" Hodgins asked, grinning.

Temperance looked at him slightly confused.

"He's talking about your book." Cassie informed, rolling her eyes.

"No. You're not in the book." Brennan said.

"Sure he is." Zack rebuked. "We all are."

"I found some bone fragments." Hodgins pointed out.

"We're out of the book, back in real life." Angela clarified the apparent subject change.

"Rana temporaria." Hodgins said.

"Frog bones?" Cassie questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"Also some tiny gold links as from a fine chain." Hodgins added, pointing out the find on the computer image.

"Point of clarification: I'm not a virgin." Zack cut in. "Nowhere near, in fact."

"Who you captured perfectly is Booth." Angela followed. "Buttoned down, but buckets of sexual confidence, which I, for one, would love to tap."

"It's not right to discuss tapping asses in front of a soaker." Zack pointed out.

"More importantly," Cassie clarified, "it's not right to discuss that in front of his daughter. I would much rather not think of my dad like that." she shivered.

"Let's just forget the book." Brennan ordered.

"I haven't analyzed what's in her hand." Hodgins said. "Looks like cellulose."

"Paper?" Angela questioned.

"Possibly." Hodgins agreed.

"I found grit in the skull fragments, I want you to identify those." Brennan told Hodgins. She turned to Zack, "Remove the remaining tissue. And I'll debride the skull fragments, reassemble it so Angela can put a face on it."

"Good, I prefer holographs." Angela sighed. "They don't stink."

"Let's get to work." Cassie exhaled.

The two girls walked off the forensic platform and headed into their shared office to begin their work. Cassie uploaded the crime scene photos into a file named "Jane Doe-1X0191305".

* * *

**The Next Day…**

"Cassie. Sweetie." Angela said softly, rubbing the sleeping teen's shoulder.

Cassie groaned and stirred, her eyes fluttering open. "Morning Ange." she yawned, stretching her arms. "I fell asleep in the office again, didn't I?"

"Yes, you did." Angela confirmed. "I think we all fell asleep at the office, to be honest."

Cassie sat up and rubbed her eyes. "Is the skull finished?" she asked.

"I think Brennan is almost finished." Angela answered. "Why don't we go get some coffee and change clothes while we're waiting for the finished skull."

"Sounds like a plan." Cassie agreed, throwing the small blanket off of her.

* * *

A few hours later, Angela and Cassie returned to the Jeffersonian, refreshed and ready to do their jobs.

"Morning Zack." Cassie greeted, when the young assistant joined her.

"Smoking again I see." Zack noted, seeing the cigarette in Cassie's hand.

The teenage girl sighed, "Will you stop nagging me? It's not as easy to quit as it sounds." Cassie took a drag from her cigarette and exhaled the smoke. "What's your problem with it anyway?" she asked, looking at Zack, who was now standing beside her.

Cassie put out her cigarette and tossed the butt into the trash bin. She pulled a spearmint flavored breath mint from her purse and popped it in her mouth.

"We're friends Cassie, and I care about you." Zack answered. "And I don't like what you're doing to your body every time you smoke."

Cassie sighed, "Look, a part of me does wanna quit," she admitted. "but, it's not that easy Zack. I wanna start over, wipe the slate clean, it's just harder than I-"

She was cut off when Zack captured her lips with his, kissing her. He held her jaw in the palm of his hand, running his thumb on her cheek. Cassie closed her eyes and kissed back, tilting her head to the side. The two pulled away from each other and exhaled, opening their eyes and locking gazes with each other.

* * *

Cassie exhaled as she walked into the office she shared with Angela.

"You okay sweetie?" Angela asked, sitting at the computer desk.

The teenager plopped down on the couch and sighed, "Zack just kissed me." she stated.

Angela scurried over to the couch and sat next to Cassie. "Seriously?" she questioned. "Brennan's adorable, naïve grad student. Our Zack, kissed you."

"You want me to draw you a picture?" Cassie snapped, twiddling her thumbs. "Sorry, it's just, I don't know."

Angela chuckled. "It's obvious that he likes you." she noted, rubbing Cassie's shoulder. "When you're describing your findings from various photographs of our victims, Zack has all his attention on you."

Cassie smiled. "He wants to help me kick the habit." she pulled out her near-empty cigarette pack. "Said he'd do whatever what's necessary to help me quit. That he doesn't want to see me slowly killing myself."

"He cares about you sweetie." Angela reminded.

"I care him too, I guess it feels this way because no one has really wanted to help me. Aside from court ordered therapists and stuff." Cassie chuckled.

Seeley knocked on the office door, "Am I interrupting anything?" he asked.

Cassie looked at her father and sighed, shaking her head. "No, we were just about to reconstruct the skull and put a face on our victim."

"Great, I'll call Bones and let her know." Booth pulled out his cell and dialed Dr. Brennan's number.

* * *

"Good Morning." Temperance greeted her colleagues. "Does Booth know how this works?"

Cassie giggled, "Nope, but he's about to get a crash course in what makes the Imagine Unit so great." she slid over to the computers and began inputting a series of numbers and letters, bringing up the program. "Proving that Angela and I are more than just a couple of pretty faces."

"Don't we know it." Angela agreed.

Cassie ran the program and dimmed the lights, activating the holographic imager.

"This computer program which I designed, patent pending, accepts an array of digital input, processes it, then projects it as a 3-D holographic image." Angela informed, smiling.

"You get that?" Temperance asked Seeley.

"The patent-pending part." Seeley answered.

"Brennan reassembled the skull and applied tissue markers." Angela informed, pulling up a three dimensional, holographic skeleton.

"Her skull was damaged." Brennan informed. "Racial indicators; cheekbone dimensions and occipital measurement suggest African-American."

"So, given those variables, just input them here," Cassie stated, typing the variables into the schematics of the hologram, "And, presto, we have our victim."

An overlay of skin was added and the victim was now known.

"I have to admit that's pretty cool." Seeley noted, reaching out to touch the hologram.

"Cassie, rerun the program substituting Caucasian values." Brennan said.

"Okay." Cassie replied, reentering the values, causing the holograph to change.

"Does she look familiar to anyone?" Brennan asked.

"No." Angela and Cassie said in unison.

"Split the difference, mixed race." Brennan ordered.

"Lenny Kravitz or Vanessa Williams?" Angela questioned.

"I don't know what that means." Temperance stated. "Reduce tissue depth over the cheekbones to the jaw line."

Cassie typed in what she needed to fit what her superior was telling her to do.

"Does anyone recognize her?" Temperance asked her colleagues.

"Not me." Zack stated.

"Wait." Angela cut in. "Is that who I think it is?"

"The girl who had the affair with the senator?" Cassie questioned, examining the hologram.

"Her name's Cleo Louise Eller, only daughter to Ted and Sharon Eller." Seeley informed. "Last seen approximately at nine pm, leaving the Cardio Deluxe Gym on K Street. She didn't even make it to her car."

"Pretty good memory." Brennan complemented.

"Yeah well, it's my job to find her." Seeley sighed, shoving his hands into his pockets.

"Well then, congratulations on your success." Hodgins said, in a slightly sarcastic tone.

"This isn't exactly the way I wanted it to end." Seeley noted.

_**Colleagues and Lovebirds…**_

* * *

**Author's Note: **So this is my first take on a _Bones_ fanfiction, so I hope it goes well. I'm basing chapters on the episodes, and they'll be divided up by acts (Act 1 and Act 2).


	2. Pilot Act2

**Pilot-Act2**

_**Colleagues and Lovebirds…**_

* * *

**Medico-Legal Lab. Jeffersonian Institution. Outside**

The team sat on the front steps of the Jeffersonian, eating their lunch while Booth informed them about the Cleo Eller case.

"Cleo Eller is not just some missing girl." Seeley informed the team.

"She's an intern who was boinking Senator Alan Bethlehem." Hodgins added.

"I was secondary in the investigation into her disappearance." Seeley reminded. "We couldn't confirm that."

Agent Booth looked over the scan of the holographic rendering of Cleo, as well as an actual photograph of her, provided by the family for the investigation.

"How did you recognize her before she had her own face?" Booth asked Dr. Brennan.

"I recognized her features." Brennan answered. "The rest was just window dressing."

"I'm no expert but, shouldn't he be happier?" Zack asked, glancing at Cassie.

Cassie popped a small piece of sushi in her mouth. "Believe me, he's happy." she noted.

"He seems happy to me." Angela pointed out.

"I need this kept quiet." Booth ordered.

"Cover-up!" Hodgins called.

"Paranoid conspiracy theory." Cassie muttered, taking a swig from her Dr. Pepper bottle.

Seeley and Temperance made their way to the parking lot, on their way to talk with Cleo Eller's family.

"Is it paranoia that Monica Lewinsky was a KGB-trained sex-agent mole?" Hodgins called after Booth, who ignored him.

"Give it a rest Hodgins." Cassie told him. "He ain't gonna answer."

"It's defiantly a cover up." Hodgins stated, shaking his head.

Cassie rolled her eyes and reached into her purse, pulling out a plain zebra print lighter and a cigarette. She placed the cigarette in her mouth and lit it, taking a drag and blowing out the smoke.

"Case in point, Hodgins, you're the main reason I smoke at work." Cassie said, taking another drag.

"Why blame me here?" Hodgins asked. "What the hell did I do?"

Cassie turned around and blew the smoke at Hodgins. "You and your wild conspiracy theories." she answered, placing the cigarette in her mouth and picking up her bag, "They get real annoying, really quick."

She threw the remains of her lunch away and leaned against the stone column, finishing her cigarette.

* * *

**Bone Room. Later that day…**

Cassie, Zack, and Temperance were in the Bone Room, examining the, now clean, remains. Cassie photographed various portions of the skeleton, so she could analyze the photos later and see what could have killed Cleo.

"There's stab marks here." Brennan pointed out. "Odd markings on the distal phalanges."

Cassie took more photos if the injuries Dr. Brennan pointed out. "With any luck, I can scan these markings and help determine what happened to this poor girl."

"Anxious, depressed and nauseous." Hodgins said, joining the three.

"Take a sick day." Brennan advised.

"Not me." Hodgins clarified. "Cleo Eller. She was on Lorazepam, Chlordiazepoxide and Meclizine Hydrochloride."

Cassie looked up, "Nausea?" she repeated, raising an eyebrow.

"Show me those bone fragments." Brennan ordered.

The four crowded around the screens, examining the enlarged magnification. "These aren't frog bones. Malleus, Incus, Stapes."

"They're fetal ear bones." Zack concluded.

"Cleo Eller was pregnant." Cassie deducted. "And not far along by the looks of this." she folded her arms across her chest.

"You want to see if we can prove paternity?" Zack asked.

"Let's hope there's enough material." Brennan replied.

"This senator is good." Hodgins noted, shaking his head. "He gets an intern pregnant then murders her when it threatens his career. He has the connections to get away with it."

"I hate it when you make paranoia plausible." Brennan told him. "It's like sliding down a cliff."

"This special unit? No way your pal heads it up unless the powers in charge are convinced he knows where his bread is buttered." Hodgins chuckled. "Either way, that's where this investigation ends."

* * *

**Imagining Unit.**

Cassie closely examined the photographs she's taken since the investigation started. She changed the file name from "Jane Doe-1X0191305" to "Case 1X0191305: Cleo Louis Eller".

She laid her head on her arms as she looked over each and every photograph. "Who could've done this?" she asked aloud, sighing.

Zack knocked on the office door. "Cassie? You're still here?" he questioned.

"Yeah, just getting a closer look at these wounds." Cassie answered, rubbing her eyes. "Trying to rack my brain on what kind of weapon was used."

"You're obviously exhausted." Zack noted, standing next to her.

Cassie rolled her eyes, "Well my dad is pressuring us to solve this quickly, considering the circumstances." she reminded.

"Go home and get some rest." Zack told her, pulling out the computer chair. "You'll be refreshed for tomorrow."

Cassie's phone vibrated when a message from her dad came through. "My dad's still at the FBI, working on a suspect list." she said, sighing.

"Then take a cab home." Zack suggested. "I'll walk you out."

Cassie sighed again. "Fine, you win Zack." she caved, standing up.

"I knew I'd win eventually." Zack chuckled, handing Cassie her bag.

She rolled her eyes. "I would say something, but I'm too tired to argue." she admitted.

The two walked out to the front of the Jeffersonian. Zack hailed a cab and opened the back door for Cassie.

"See ya tomorrow." Zack said, shutting the cab door.

Cassie smiled and waved goodbye as the cab pulled away.

* * *

**Imaging Unit. The Next Day…**

Cassie clocked into the Jeffersonian around noon, since her classes were let out early due to a school board meeting. She wore a pair of white wedges, holey jeans, a dark purple and black t-shirt that said 'Nirvana' in a calligraphic style in hot pink color. Cassie reached into her bag and pulled out her lab coat, which was navy blue a had C. Booth sown into the fabric in white thread.

"Knock, knock Angela." Cassie greeted, walking into her office.

"Hey sweetie, you're out early." Angela replied, smiling and hugging her friend.

"Yeah, there was a school board meeting so we only had half a day." Cassie informed. "So, since this case is kinda high-priority, I figured I'd be useful here."

"You have no idea." Brennan agreed, walking in. "We need everyone because we have twelve hours before a new agent takes over the case."

"What?" Angela and Cassie asked in unison.

"That's true." Booth agreed, from the doorway. "If we want to solve Cleo's murder, we need to do it fast."

Zack and Hodgins walked in behind Booth.

"What do we have?" Brennan asked Angela, referring to the case.

Angela pulled up the three dimensional hologram of Cleo. "This is a rough composite, but you get the idea.." she said.

"Skull trauma was not the cause of death." Brennan deducted. "Cleo was stabbed five to eight times with a military-issue K-bar knife."

"As I examined the photos with Zack yesterday, he pointed out these wounds here." Cassie said, pointing to the injuries on Cleo's hands on the scanned X-Rays.

"As I examined the bones closer, it was evident that those were defensive wounds." Zack added.

"These defensive wounds suggest it wasn't till the third or the fourth penetration…" Angela said, pulling up a holographic rendering of the attack.

"That's likely the fatal stab right there." Cassie pointed out, freezing the attack scenario. "Since she was stabbed five times, the defensive markings Zack found suggest that it that Cleo stopped fighting back after the third or fourth penetration."

"The damage to her distal phalanges, the tips of her finger bones, was caused by the murderer using a knife to remove her finger pads." Brennan informed.

"Cranial fragmentation suggests a 20Ib hammer striking four to five times while her head rested on a floor with traces of diatomaceous earth." Hodgins added, "That's the best explanation for the particulates found in her skull."

"This was not a crime of passion." Brennan concluded.

"Cleo never saw the first stab coming." Angela said. "It didn't arise out of an argument."

"Then why smash her face?" Cassie asked, leaning against the holographic machine. "Why whittle away her fingers? Remove clothing and jewelry?"

"Why sink her body?" Zack added.

"He put more effort into hiding her identity than he did into the murder." Brennan said.

"The murderer planted evidence." Hodgins added. "The book from the stalker matches the cellulose."

"Military cemetery and military knife implicates her father." Angela followed. "More misdirection."

"Sound like any conniving, son-of-a-bitch senators you know?" Hodgins asked, directing the question at Booth.

"You expect me to declare war on a US senator based on your little holographic crystal ball?" Booth asked, directing his question to everyone else.

"It's not magic, dad." Cassie pointed out. "It's all a logical recreation of events based on the evidence we've uncovered throughout the case."

"It's no more valid than my gut." Booth rebuffed.

"Based on all the evidence we've uncovered, and testing it all out, it's a good hypothesis." Zack pointed out.

"It's not a hypothesis." Booth corrected. "You have a dead girl and a US senator. This is exactly why squints belong in the lab. You guys don't know anything about the real world."

"Come on." Brennan said. "We're done here."

Dr. Brennan walked out of the office followed by Hodgins and Zack.

"Wow, touchy." Booth scoffed.

Cassie rolled her eyes and shut off the holographic generator. "Nice one dad." she said, heavily sarcastic. "I thought your whole reason for calling Dr. Brennan in on this case was to mend the bridge and create a decent partnership."

"Yeah well, this isn't just any case." Booth reminded.

"Whatever." Cassie sighed, turning on the office lights.

"You must know about her family." Angela said. "Both parents vanish when she's 15, probably counts as the real world."

"Yeah, I know the story." Booth confirmed. "I read the file. The cops never found out anything."

"Yeah. Brennan figures that maybe somebody like her had been there." Angela started to say.

"Well, for somebody who hates psychology, she sure has a lot of it." Booth pointed out.

"If you still want to solve this case before you're kicked off, you might want to apologize to Dr. Brennan." Cassie advised, sitting on the office couch. "She is the best in her field. And if anyone can solve what happened to Cleo Eller, it's Dr. Brennan, and you."

Booth rolled his eyes. "You defiantly are my daughter, Cassie." he chuckled.

"I know." Cassie giggled.

Booth kissed his daughter's head as he walked out of the office.

"Nice one Cass." Angela complemented.

Cassie just giggled and opened her World Geography book and binder. She started her homework with a smile on her face.

* * *

**Medico-Legal Lounge. That Night**.

"They wouldn't even arrest him?" Zack asked.

"Don't worry." Hodgins reassured. "If that's the hammer used on Cleo, he'll get arrested."

Cassie cleared her throat and held up her water glass. "A toast to getting the murderous bastard!" she spoke.

"Here, here." Hodgins agreed.

The team all clinked their glasses and chuckled. Cassie leaned back on the couch and sighed, taking a sip of her water.

"The hammer's not enough." Brennan stated. "He's gonna get away with it. Maybe Booth is right, outside the lab, I'm useless."

"Let us take guidance from the lives of the saints." Cassie suggested, picking up the booklet Brennan had taken from Cleo's stalker. "Albertus Magnus, patron saint of scientists."

"I thought Magnus was the patron saint of fishmongers?" Zack questioned.

"Albertus Magnus was a 13th-century philosopher." Hodgins corrected. "The fishmonger…"

"Fish!" Brennan exclaimed. "You said diatomaceous earth could be used as a filter.

"For swimming pools and water filters." Hodgins answered.

"Or tropical fish?" Brennan asked. "Oliver Laurier said that Ken Thompson kept fish.

"What's your hurry?" Angela asked, once Temperance was sliding on her jacket.

"Ken read the warrant, he knows we want diatomaceous earth." Brennan informed. "Get in touch with Booth. Tell him where I'm going, OK?" she called as she walked off.

"She didn't actually say where she was going, did she?" Angela asked.

Cassie pulled out her cell phone, "I think I might know." she said, dialing her dad's number. "Dad, Dr. Brennan knows who killed Cleo Eller."

"Who Cassie?" Booth asked on the other line.

"Ken Thompson." Cassie answered. "Dr. Brennan just left. You'd better hurry."

"Good work." Booth said before hanging up.

Cassie closed her phone and fell back on the couch. "I think it's safe to say, case closed." she sighed.

* * *

Cassie packed up her schoolbag and threw on her leather jacket. Zack knocked on the office door.

"They got the guy." Zack said.

"I knew my dad would get there in time." Cassie giggled, folding up her Medico-Legal lab coat. "This has been a stressful case."

"Want me to hail you a cab?" Zack asked.

Cassie nodded, "Yeah. I'd like that."

The two walked out of the Jeffersonian and stood on the curbside.

"Zack, I want you to witness something." Cassie said, taking his arm.

"What do you want me to witness exactly?" Zack asked.

Cassie smiled and reached into her purse, pulling out her lighter and cigarette pack. She tossed both of them into the trash bin near them and turned to Zack. "This isn't gonna be easy for me, but I'm willing to quit." she admitted. "And I really want you to help me, Zack."

Zack smiled and took her hands. "Whatever you need, I'll help you Cassie." he moved his hands to her cheeks and cupped them. "I promise."

"Thanks Zack, that means everything to me." Cassie sighed.

"But, I have to ask," Zack stated, his hands moving to his pockets. "why choose now to quit?"

"So I can do this." Cassie answered.

She wrapped her arms around Zack's neck and planted her lips on his, kissing him deeply. Her arms laced tightly around his neck, and his found their way to Cassie's waist, holding her still. Their kiss deepened even more as Cassie tilted her head a little to the left, and she gripped the base of Zack's hair.

Cassie let out a deep breath as she pulled away.

"Wow." Zack sighed.

Cassie licked her lips. "Yeah." she agreed.

She held up her hand and a yellow taxi pulled up to the curb.

"So see ya tomorrow?" Zack asked, opening the door. "It is Cleo's funeral."

Cassie nodded. "Yeah, I'll bee there." she answered, sliding into the cab.

"Night Cassie." Zack said, shutting the cab door.

"Night Zack." Cassie replied.

She gave the cab driver her address and the car drove in that direction.

* * *

**The Next Day. **

The team stood together at Cleo's funeral, paying their respects.

"Is the FBI gonna lay charges against Brennan?" Angela whispered.

"She only shot him in the leg once." Hodgins reminded, casting a glance at Seeley.

"She didn't give him a warning." Seeley noted. "She just shot him, with alcohol on her breath."

"It was her first shooting, though." Cassie pointed out. "You can't expect her to be perfect."

"How much warning did you give people before you sniped them?" Zack asked, directing the question towards Booth.

Seeley cast a glance back at the team and walked away, following Temperance.

Cassie reached down and took Zack's hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. She let out a deep breath and exhaled. "Rest in peace Cleo." she whispered. "Finally."

Using her free hand, she traced the cross over her face and shoulders and bowed her head.

* * *

**Main Cast:**

Emily Deschanel as Dr. Temperance Brennan

David Boreanaz as Agent Seeley Booth

Michaela Conlin as Angela Montenegro

Britt Robertson as Cassandra "Cassie" Booth

Eric Millegan as Zack Addy

TJ Thyne as Dr. Jack Hodgins


	3. A Boy in a Tree Act1

**A Boy in the Tree**

**Act1**

* * *

"Yeah dad, got it." Cassie said into her phone, while searching her office for her camera bag. "Dead body, prep school."

"Grab Zack on your way out." Brennan added on the other line. "This will be good field experience for him."

Cassie nodded, "Alright Dr. Brennan, I will." she said.

"We're right outside Cassie, so hurry." Booth followed, hanging up.

Cassie shut her phone and stuck it in her pocket. "Sure." she sighed. She threw on her Medico-Legal Lab coat and slung the strap of her camera bag over her shoulder.

She walked up to the forensics platform, "Hey Zack, we got a case!" she called, getting the grad student's attention.

Zack nodded and grabbed a few things from the platform and met Cassie by the doors. "So, we're going out into the field. Great." he chuckled.

"Yeah, and according to my dad this one's a serious one, but hey, I'm not complaining." Cassie giggled.

"Oh hey, there's Naomi." Zack pointed out. "I need to talk to her about-"

Cassie grabbed his arm and turned back towards the sliding glass doors. "It's been a month man, let it go." she advised, leading her colleague out of the Medico-Legal Lab.

"But when I talked to her yesterday, she told me, 'take a hint'." Zack told her. "What does that mean?"

"We'll talk later." Cassie answered, picking up her pace.

* * *

The two walked out to the front and climbed into the back of the FBI van.

"So what exactly is the case dad?" Cassie asked, leaning forward and laying her head by the driver's seat headrest.

"Like I said on the phone." Booth answered. "We've got a dead body in a prep school, out in the sticks. Sit back."

Cassie rolled her eyes and leaned back, crossing her legs. She reached forward to take her father's coffee cup from the front seat cup holders.

"Good morning to you, too." Brennan spoke.

"It's prestigious, a lot of rich kids." Booth continued.

"I thought it was good to say good morning?" Brennan asked, glancing back at Cassie.

"It is." Cassie confirmed. "Good morning, Dr. Brennan." she smiled.

"Good morning Cassie." Brennan replied. "See Booth."

"You're successful with women, right? They like you?" Zack asked, leaning forward, directing the question to Booth. "If a woman said to you, "Take a hint", what would it mean?"

"Let it go Zack." Cassie advised, taking another sip of coffee.

"Can we just concentrate on the job?" Booth asked, glancing in the mirror. Everyone else got quiet. "Thank you. Now, I know the sheriff out there, she's mostly OK." he continued. "But the school's got a lot of pull in the county and she's probably trying to scrape the case off on us."

"She sounds very lovely." Cassie noted.

"What I'm saying is it's not just a crime scene, it's a political situation." Booth elaborated. "So when we get there, you follow my lead and you pay attention."

"You'd call after every sexual encounter?" Zack asked Booth. "That's the good thing?"

Cassie nearly choked on the coffee and coughed. "Okay, that's not letting it go." she reminded. "You two slept together a month ago. Build and bridge and get over it."

"Look, this is a work mode. This is a work zone." Booth stated. "You do not talk sex at work."

"First I'm too task-oriented, then when I say 'good morning', you say I should concentrate on the job." Brennan cut in, rolling her eyes.

"Look, we got about a 45-minute drive, hm?" Booth said. "What do you say we pass it in quiet meditation?"

Cassie put her dad's coffee back in the cup holder and leaned back in the seat, pulling out her purple iPod, headphone splitter, and two sets of headphones. She plugged in both headphone sets and handed one to Zack.

"I have your quiet meditation, right here." she chuckled, hitting the play button on her iPod, blasting Linkin Park.

* * *

**Hanover Preparatory Academy. Prince George's County, Maryland.**

"Can I talk now?" Zack asked.

"No." Booth answered.

"That's not fair. We're here now." Brennan cut in.

"My car, my rules, period." Booth stated. He pulled out his badge. "FBI. Special Agent Seeley Booth and a forensic anthropologist."

"Dr. Temperance Brennan, from the Jeffersonian Institute." Brennan introduced.

"Plus one crack assistant." Zack added, leaning forward.

"And a sixteen year old Forensic Photographer." Cassie followed, smiling.

"I'll need to see some ID, please" said the security officer.

The four handed their ID cards to the security guard.

"This reminds me of where I went to school." Zack noted.

"You don't get much farther from the real world." Booth said. "Whose kids go here is classified information."

"Is that why I'm going to Madison High?" Cassie questioned her father.

Booth nodded. "Exactly. Because public school is as real as it gets." he answered.

"Noted." Cassie replied.

"Agent Booth, Dr Brennan, I'll lead you to Mr. Sanders, head of security." said the security guard.

"Aim us in the right direction." Booth suggested. "We'll find it."

"All outsiders are to be escorted, sir." the guard stated, walking ahead.

"Omnia mea mecum porto." Cassie read from the school's plate.

"What does that mean, huh? 'Regular people stay out'?" Booth joked.

"'I carry with me all my things'." Zack and Temperance answered in unison.

Seeley rolled his eyes and slowly drove onto the campus.

Cassie looked out the window at the school's architecture and sighed, "Suddenly, I feel really underdressed." she stated.

"You look normal Cassie, okay. That's all, you look normal." Seeley corrected, parking the FBI van.

* * *

"Hey, Seeley." greeted the Sheriff. "How's it going?"

"Congratulations on being elected full sheriff, Karen." Seeley replied. "Very impressive."

"I'm Leo Sanders, head of security here at Hanover." he greeted. "This is Headmaster Peter Ronson." Leo motioned to an elderly man in a suit.

"Where are the human remains?" Dr. Brennan asked.

"This is Dr Brennan and her assistant-" Booth started to introduce.

"Zack Addy." Cassie cut in. "And I'm Cassie Booth, Forensic Photographer." she held up her camera bag.

"Seeley, you never told me you had a daughter." Karen chuckled.

"Yeah well last time we worked together, Cassie was in Juvie." Seeley told her.

"Now he's stuck with me since my mother's in prison on drug charges and my grandmother's in assisted living." Cassie giggled, following the group to the human remains.

"Our term break ends tomorrow, I'd like to get this tidied up so the students never know." informed head master Ronson.

"But we don't know what happened, that's why I'm here." Brennan cut in. "Did anyone touch the body?"

"I doubt it." Karen answered. "It's pretty grisly."

"Trust me, we've seen worse." Cassie rebuked.

"Where are the remains?" Dr. Brennan asked.

"Uh, Dr. Brennan." Cassie said, pointing upward.

Everyone followed her gaze to see the decomposing body hanging from a tree. Crows were perched on the body, pecking at the flesh.

"Is that a student?" Seeley asked, slightly disgusted.

"It's a secure campus." Leo informed. "Must be student, staff or faculty."

"Video first." Brennan instructed Cassie. "I don't want the flash to disturb the crows."

"That'd be a shame, disturb the flesh-eating birds." remarked headmaster Ronson.

"Gentlemen, give my forensic anthropologist some room." Seeley advised

"Your forensic anthropologist?" Brennan repeated.

"Agent Booth, if you decide it's suicide, it's my problem." Karen reminded.

"Actually, the person who decides if this was a suicide is Dr. Brennan." Zack corrected.

"Give my squints some room, please." Seeley repeated.

"Since when are we his squints?" Zack asked Cassie.

"Since we agreed to help him with murder cases." Cassie answered, filming the body and the surrounding areas. "I got video."

"Go to stills." Brennan instructed.

"Can we just get him down from there?" asked headmaster Ronson.

"There's a lot of work to do before that." Zack informed.

"Step back." Seeley instructed.

"I'm the headmaster." Ronson reminded.

"And this is a crime scene." rebuked Seeley. "Step back."

"I'd listen if I were you." Cassie advised, snapping pictures of the body.

Once the crows flew away, the victim's head rolled off the body. Dr. Brennan caught it before it could hit the ground.

"I'm gonna need an evidence bag." Brennan said.

"Heads up." Booth warned, just as the body fell.

Cassie and Zack jumped back once the body hit the ground.

"I'm gonna need a bigger bag." Temperance stated. "Zack, collect soil samples and insects for Hodgins to analyze back at the Jeffersonian. Cassie, get photos of the surrounding area for geographical analysis."

* * *

**Colleagues and Lovebirds**

* * *

**Medico-Legal Lab; Jeffersonian Institution. **

"I make this a male. Approximately five foot six, 130 pounds." Brennan concluded. "From the looks of his sternum and skull, I'd say mid-adolescence, say 14 to 17. High cheekbones, you think Asian?"

"I'm getting more of a Hispanic vibe." Angela replied.

"There is a significant Crematogaster ant colony in the tree that fed on the body, as well as tabanid maggots." Hodgins informed. "I'll give you a time of death when I find out who ate what."

"Check for insect pupa and larva, see what drugs might have been in his system." Brennan ordered.

"He was wearing this." Zack said, handing a silver necklace to Cassie.

Cassie took the pendant and looked it over. "Catholic boy." she noted, "Poor thing."

Dr. Brennan pulled something out of the face and held it up.

"What is that?" Cassie asked.

"Cochlear implant." Brennan answered. "The birds were trying to get it."

"That would set a boy apart from others, being deaf." Angela pointed out.

"Get a serial number." Brennan instructed Zack, who nodded.

"I'll get the X-rays," Angela said.

"and then I'll get 3-D imaging of the entire skeleton." Cassie followed, "Once Angela gets the X-rays."

Both girls smiled at each other and slapped a high five.

"I didn't talk at school. I didn't kill myself." Zack stated.

"That wasn't a high school." Hodgins corrected. "It was an experimental eugenics program."

Cassie rolled her eyes and patted Zack's shoulder, "Call me when you get that serial number so we can ID out victim here." she said, smiling. She pecked his cheek before following Angela off the Forensics Platform.

* * *

**Imagining Unit**

Cassie uploaded the crime scene photos to the case file while Angela was scanning in the X-rays. Her phone vibrated across her desk and she flipped it open, "Yes darling?" she answered, chuckling.

"I have that serial number for you to trace." Zack answered.

"Great bring it by and I'll run a search." Cassie said, hanging up. "Zack found the serial number on the implant."

Angela chuckled, "Darling?" she repeated. "That was totally cute."

Cassie giggled and went back to inputting information.

Zack slid the cochlear implant in front of Cassie. "Now work your magic."

Cassie chuckled and typed in the serial number in an FBI search database. "Bingo baby." she giggled.

* * *

**Forensic Platform**

Seeley walked into the Medico-Legal Lab and walked up the stairs to the forensic platform, and unknowingly set off the alarm.

"What the hell is that?" he asked.

Cassie walked up and swiped her ID card, shutting the alarm off. "We can't have just anyone contaminate the evidence and remains dad." she answered, walking past him, with Zack at her side.

"In other words, the boring details." Brennan added.

""Boring details" was my signal for you to stop talking." Booth informed. "I want my own card."

"Well I want my own gun." Brennan replied.

"Last time you had a gun, you shot someone." Booth reminded.

"He was a bad guy." Zack cut in.

"Who's our victim?" Booth asked.

"All the boring details?" Brennan questioned.

"Let it go, Bones." Booth sighed. "Move on."

"Don't call me Bones." Brennan corrected.

"Cassie traced the implant to Dr Maurice Ledbetter at Cedars-Sinai, who placed it in a boy named Nestor Olivos." Zack informed, nudging Cassie's arm.

Booth looked through the records the school handed over to him, searching for the victim's name. "Nestor Olivos, student visa, son of a Venezuelan ambassador." he read off. "What else?"

"You want all the boring details?" Temperance questioned.

"Let it go, Bones." Booth sighed.

"Don't call me Bones!" Brennan shot.

"The boy's hyoid bone is broken." Cassie added, highlighting the injured area on the X-rays.

"Strangulation, it's always broken." Booth reminded, looking over his daughter's shoulder.

"In adults." Zack reminded. "This was a boy."

"His hyoid is flexible, unbreakable." Brennan added.

"Well, maybe the kid's got some kind of Venezuelan brittle-bone syndrome." Booth joked. "I'm just trying to help. So he was murdered?"

"I don't know what happened to the boy because I don't have all the facts." Brennan answered.

Just then, both Seeley's and Temperance's phones went off. Both walked off the forensics platform and exited the Jeffersonian.

_**Colleagues and Lovebirds…**_


End file.
